Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys). Often strange, occasionally useful, and always worth a stop as a point of interest on your journey through the Intertron.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

These are a few of my favourites things! Morning routine

I started thinking about the products I use every day when Lise asked me about my preferences, so I thought I would share my daily routine. What I use changes by season, weather, and whim, so this is what I'm loving on January 31st, a generally very wet time in south west BC. (I'm still a bit under the weather with the tail end of this flu, so I'll be posting a few of these posts until I can get into the workshop next week!)

MORNING!
The alarm goes off and I spend a minute or two trying to figure out how to turn it off so my husband isn't awoken again...Okay, I'm up now! Into the kitchen - turn on the kettle, let my Blondie dog out for a few minutes, grab the paper, and check my email. I send out e-books and read and respond to messages. If I'm up early enough, I can write a blog post!

I brush my teeth, then wash my face with foaming facial wash. (I love this version with grape seed, chamomile, and green tea extract, but the dissolved powders can clog up the small foamers I love at the moment.) I apply anti-perspirant. I get dressed and go to the gym (5 or 6 mornings a week. I tried going in the evening, but I'm too hyper when I'm done and there are too many people there! Morning works best!)

I work out - full workout with weights for 90 minutes or aquafit - then a shower. I don't like to wash my face again, so I have a quick spritz of this toner to make my skin feel clean. I've included a ton of extracts to reduce inflammation and redness, and I'm always red-faced after a good land workout!

I love my shampoo bar - although the next version will have some stuff to help with the pool chemicals - and I'm loving this conditioner! I reduced the Ritamulse BTMS-225 to 3.5% and increased the water by 3.5% to compensate.

Body wash is essential, and this version is the one I use almost year around. I love the water soluble Shea butter, but PEG-7 olivate or another water soluble ester works really well! And I find the cationic polymer is great for that post-shower conditioning.

If I shower at home, I need my sugar scrub - I love this one right now - and foot scrub bar. If I'm at the Y, I take my body scrub bar so I don't have to lug around my 16 ounce plastic jar. (There isn't point in putting my scrub in anything smaller because I tend to abuse this stuff, and 4 ounces wouldn't get me through a week!)

Finally, I spray my hair first with this leave in conditioner then the anti-frizz spray. I alter my leave in conditioner throughout the year to add a little more conditioning when I'm swimming more, a little more detangling in the summer when I sweat more and find huge knots just above my neck, and a little more Incroquat CR when the humidity is low and I need more anti-static action! I don't alter the anti-frizz spray: My my hair will absorb any water it can!

Can you spot the two things I didn't make in this story?
Join me tomorrow for the rest of my exciting day!

5 comments:

I remember reading that your shAmpoo needs EDTA if you're swimming A lot so I always looked for it when I bought shampoo and now I always add to the shampoo I make. Would be curious to see if EDTA would work in a shampoo bar.

I miss aqua aerobics at the gym but gym membership not in our budget right now. I walk at the track next to my son's school for 30 min, cool down 5 min, stretch 5 min, then do some sit-ups. Done in under an hour. 3 days a week at home I do free weights, about 15 min. Hasfit.com has great safe free workout videos. Just curious what everyone else's workout is like.

Ok, not to brag :) but ive lost 15 lb and more importantly my cholesterol is back down to 175 because

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Unfortunately I'm not able to offer business consultations at this time as I'm simply too busy. Thank you so much for thinking of me when you need assistance with your formulations. (I may be able to offer this in the future.)

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My e-books

To raise money for our youth groups, I've put together these e-books! If you want to learn more about the books or donate, click on the bolded links!Or click here for a short description of all the e-books!The new e-book is here! Formulating Facial Products! This 399 page e-book is filled with recipes for facial products, including moisturizers, sera, cleansers (oil and surfactant based), scrubs, gels, and more, as well as entries for ingredients like botanical extracts, cosmeceuticals, emulsifiers, thickeners, essential oil, and more, as well as a large appendix about our oils.

Click here to see the table of contents! If you make a $28 donation to our youth programs, we'll send you a copy of this e-book along with the preservatives, oils, butters, and surfactant charts as a thank you for your kind generosity!

Formulating & Creating Lotions! This 224 page e-book is perfect for those of you familiar with lotion making and ready to start creating your own recipes! I've included all the information I know about the HLB system, as well as my base recipes for lotions, creams, body butters, and moisturizers!

Click here to see the table of contents! If you make a $26 donation to my youth programs, I'll send you a copy of this e-book, an HLB calculator in Excel format, and the carrier oil, exotic oil, butter, and preservative comparison charts.

Lotion Making 101. This 305 page book includes everything you wanted to know about the basics of making lotions, including the chemistry of our lotions, ingredients we use, keeping your lotions safe, equipment you might need, and more recipes than I could count! For those of you who don't have the Back to Basics book, I've included all the carrier oil, exotic oil, and butter profiles.

Click here to see the table of contents. If you make a $29 donation to my youth groups, I'll send you along a copy of this e-book as a thank you. I'll also send you a copy of the carrier oil, exotic oil, butter, and preservative comparison charts!

Back to Basics: Anhydrous Products. This 122 page e-book includes over 50 recipes and explanations for making lotion bars, whipped butters, balms, oil based scrubs, bath melts, bath oils, oil based sprays, solid scrubs, and facial sera, as well as all the carrier oil, exotic oil, and butter profiles and everything I've gathered about the chemistry of our oils including fatty acids, mechanisms of rancidity, phytosterols, and polyphenols.

Click to take peek at the Table of Contents. If you make a $25 donation to the groups, I'll send you a copy by e-mail as a thank you!

Click on the links above to learn more about the books. If you already know what you want or want to make a general donation, click the button below! (I'll know which e-book you want by the amount you've donated!) Thank you so much for supporting our youth groups. You have made it possible for us to continue offering our programs and we finally got that sewing machine!

I've had to remove my cell phone number due to a number of calls from people wanting to learn how to make lotion. If you are part of the groups or want more information, please email me or call Community Services at 604 792-4267 to get connected.

Who the heck is Swift?

I'm an aspiring cosmetic scientician and DIY girl interested in pretty much any craft you can name - bookbinding, jewellery making, sewing, paper crafts, polymer clay - but my main passion is bath & body product making.
I am currently obsessed with Rock Band (bass and singing) and science books. Did you know my favourite word is "toaster" and my favourite adjective is "hirsute"?